Until The End Of Time
by MSkyDragons
Summary: (OneShot)Vash has stood the test of time, but others have not. Many many years after the events at the end of Trigun, he thinks back on the years... the times of joy and times of sadness, remembering those who are no longer with him. An epilogue...an end.


Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun. You'd think everyone would know that by now.

Spoiler warnings! Major! As in do not read this if you have not seen all/most of Trigun…well, at least the end of Trigun you need to have seen.

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            Two beautiful creatures walked down the long dusty road of an old desert town. They walked side by side, wearing near identical long flowing brown coats the colors of the sand. They walked slowly, carefully, surveying the many empty buildings with their eyes, their long flowing hair blowing in the hot wind and shining like the sun.

            They searched for something in particular—the house where the old man lived, the old man who did not look old.

            Soon, the two women came to a stop at the dusty steps of the small house that stood in front of them. The only sounds that could be heard in this deserted town was that of a single rocking chair squeak as it moved back and forth and the forever unrelenting beat of the wind.

…

            "Papa?" The taller one said as she walked into the back of the house, the floorboards creaking along the way.

            "Yes?" Came a soft reply that seemed distant and far off.

            She and her sister headed toward the sweet sound of his reply. There on the backyard porch sat the old man rocking back and forth in his chair while staring out over the desert sands.

            They came closer and sat down on the back steps beside him. He was still wearing the same old red coat that he was wearing the last time they came to visit him—the one they made especially for him; the one he had said reminded him a lot of the old one he used to have so very many years before.

            "It's time to go," the younger sister spoke up, "the ships are here."

            "I know." He said. "I could hear the thoughts of the others." He continued rocking back and forth in the chair, his coat brushing against the old dusty floor.

            "Well, papa," they asked, "are you ready to go?"

            "Yes, almost." The man spoke as he carefully got up. Then he thought for a moment and asked, "Where are your brothers? I though they would come."

            "Oh," said the taller sister as they all stood up, "they are waiting for us at the ships with their children and their children's children.

            "Of course" Vash said with a smile on his face. It gave him such joy when he thought of his family.

            But then his gaze drew him to the small cemetery that sat only a few yarz from where he had sat. And then he recalled why he had been sitting in that rocking chair in the first place. He had such wonderful memories of joy, yet such haunting memories of pain.

            As his two daughters headed back into the house, he picked up his cane and began to hobble his way slowly toward the graves. The man once known as the great "Vash the Stampede" _hobbled_ and walked with a _cane_?! Even though his body looked young and full of energy, his long, long years of life and his many, many scars had taken a terrible toll on him. Some injuries never really heal—they _never_ heal.

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            The girls suddenly noticed their father's footsteps fading instead of getting closer. They turned around and noticed he was not there. So, they rushed back out onto the porch and saw him slowly walking in the wrong direction.

            "Papa!" they cried out in unison, "Aren't you coming?!"

            "Yes," he called out in reply without even looking back, "just…just give me a moment."

            His daughters' beautiful blue-green eyes gazed out upon the sands, viewing his movements, hearing his words…and then they saw where he was heading—three small graves and headstones in the sand. They bowed their heads down and looked at the ground. They too had lived long lives and had sad memories they would rather not remember.

            Vash soon came face to face with the headstones of the graves. He let himself carefully slide down to the sandy ground so that he could sit on his knees. He sat right in front of two of the graves while the third was a bit off to the side. His face looked terribly sad as he sat in remembrance of those people whose names were engraved on those stones.

            His face slid down to his hands and he began to cry.

…

            Their hearts sank as they continued to watch him across the sands. So, they decided to come and stand by him in his sadness and their own.

            "Papa?" they slowly asked, "Are you…alright?"

            He paused, "Do you…regret it?" he solemnly asked.

            "Hmm?" they said.

            He stared longfully at the grave directly in front and to the right of him—the grave of his first-born son, his third child.

            "Do you regret what you did?" He asked with a deep sadness in his voice, "What you _had_ to do so long ago?" He put a hand to the grave stone, slowly tracing the letters of the his son's name with his finger.

            "No, father," the two said very decisively as they and Vash all looked over at that third grave that was off to the side on the left, "We don't regret something that we had to do."

            They looked solemnly at the name on that third grave—the one that read: K-n-i-v-e-s. "But…but we are sorry that it was necessary."

            The two girls bowed their heads and looked back to the two graves in front of them—the last resting place of their young brother and their dear mother.

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            Vash stared deeply, sadly at the stone that sat in front of him. It had barely stood up against the test of time. The engraved letters were barely readable to someone who did not already know what it said. But he knew. All three of them that looked upon that grave knew what it said. Vash almost smiled through his tears as he thought of the happy memories he stared with the woman who lay in that small mound—his wife, his love: Meryl Strife.

            He looked up at his two beautiful daughters and asked, "Could you give us a moment…alone?"

            They nodded and almost smiled in spite of the sad memories, "We'll wait for you inside the house." And with that, they walked away.

…

            Now Vash sat alone on those lonely sands, looking at the resting place of the love of his life.

            "Meryl," he spoke with a soft smile on his face, "how long has it been now, almost 800 years since I last stroked your soft face…since you last called my name?"

            A tear slowly ran down his face. "You probably thought I would have forgotten you after all these centuries, after all this time."

            "I remember…" Vash looked up at the brilliant blue and cloudy sky as he spoke, "I remember how you always would playfully talk about oh, how I'd leave you when you get old and wrinkled, how I'd get another young 'pretty thing' when you pass away, how I'd go through hundreds of wife's in my long lifetime." He stifled a laugh at the idea, "How could I ever forget you?!"

            "I could never forget you…my first and _only_ true love…" he spoke as he put a hand out to touch her gravestone,

            "How could I forget our time together?"

            "How could I forget the day we married?"

            "How could I forget when you gave birth to our first child?" tears again began to stroke down his face…

            "How could I forget you, the brightest light of my life, who gave me the everlasting gift of so many beautiful children…who give me the joy of their company and their own children and grandchildren even today?" His continuing tears were lost somewhere torn between joy and happiness.

            "I love you, Meryl!" Vash cried out, "I will always remember you!"

            He stopped and paused for a moment, thinking of all the years he spent with Meryl, all the happy memories. His tears dropped to the dusty ground, sizzling away on contact.

            Vash slowly stood up and once again looked up into the sky, and he spoke, softly…

            "Meryl, I will remember you every day of my life, every century that goes by, until the stars themselves grow dark and disappear from the night sky…"

            "…and I will love you until the end of time."

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            And then, the man once know as "Vash the Stampede" picked up his cane, dusted himself off, and said a final goodbye before heading back to the little old house where his two oldest children waited for him.

            He went up the stairs of the porch and called out cheerfully, "I'm ready."

            His daughters nearly knocked him down with the hug they ran up and gave him.

            "I love you, daddy!" they cried in unison.

            "I love you, too." Vash hugged them tightly.

            And then his sweet children wrapped his arms around their shoulders so that he could lean on them and walk a little easier on the way to the ships.

            So, once again the two beautiful creatures found themselves walking down the same empty desert road in this empty desert town—this time with their dearest papa in tow.

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            It was a fairly long walk to where the ships had landed, those "rescue" ships that had been foretold to come for centuries.

            It was a happy sight Vash saw as he and his daughters arrived. His extensive family that covered many generations stood gathered by the rescue ships waiting just for him. His descendants cheered when they saw him, and his sons and grandchildren rushed up to hug him.

            This was one of the happier moments of Vash's life.

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            Soon, they all began boarding the ships—the ships that would take them to a nearby human colony settlement on a planet the crew had said was lush and green and near identical to the earth that held the first human life until no one could live there anyone.

            Vash smiled when he thought of this new and wonderful place, full of life that he and his children would soon see.

            It had grown especially lonely on Gunsmoke in the past few hundred years, the human population had been steadily decreasing every decade, due to disease, famine, crime, and the harsh environment. And it continued to decrease until they all grew old and died. Sadly, all that were left were Vash and his descendants.

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            Vash looked out the window of the ship as it began to take off. He saw the ground swirling under him. The desert was moving further and further away.

            His mind once again settled on Meryl…

            "Meryl, if what those things Wolfwood told be long ago are true…" Vash though quietly to himself, "I hope to see you again one day… in heaven."

            Soon, the ship had left the atmosphere of the now empty desert planet, leaving Vash's eyes to gaze upon the stars. His mind thought back to a little while ago, the words echoing in his mind:

            _"Meryl, I will remember you every day of my life, every century that goes by, until the stars themselves grow dark and disappear from the night sky…"_

            And then his tired eyes closed as he fell asleep while sitting next to the window to dream of long ago happy memories. And still the words flowed in his mind:

_            "…and I will love you until the end of time." _

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The end

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:) Please review…If someone likes this story I'd love to know.

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